It's been said some of the best things in life are free, and when it comes to a custom car and hot rod show like Gene Winfield and Larry Watson's first annual gathering, we're here to tell you its true! The flyers for Larry and Gene's October 19, 2008 show started circulating in early June, and the buzz was well on its way to a major clamor by the time we rolled into to Mojave, California to take it all in. In the spirit of carpooling and just hanging out together to raise a little hell I rode up with Bob Ryder, Truckin's tech editor, and Michael Stanford, Street Rodder's art-director. I knew it was going to an incredible day as soon as Bob rolled up in a pitch black '08 Ford pickup that Truckin' had just finished running the wheels off for its truck of the year awards. On the flyer the hours for the gathering were listed from 11 a.m. to till 7 p.m. but somehow the three of us decided to roll out of Orange County at five in the morning, and as luck would have it, it turned out to be a good idea.

By 9:30 a.m. there was already a long line of every kind of cool vehicle parked alongside the highway in front of Gene's shop. We bailed out of the Ford and hoofed it the rest of the way to discover a proverbial custom culture smorgasbord. Check out some of the photos Michael and I shot, and you'll see what I mean. For those of you that would like to attend next year's show it will be held on October 18, 2009. For show information call (661) 824-4728.